IT’S A DAY of rest, and you may be in the mood for a quiet corner and a comfy chair.

We’ve hand-picked some of the week’s best reads for you to savour.

1. Taoiseach navigates the White House

Micheál Martin meets President Donald Trump on St Patrick's Day Alamy Alamy

The story of the week has been Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s visit to the White House for St Patrick’s Day, and our Political Editor Cristina Finn has it summed in this piece.

A conversation dominated by war in the Middle East had some tetchy moments, particularly when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer became a target for Donald Trump. Overall though, Martin escaped most of the president’s wrath. 

(The Journal, approx 8 mins reading time)

Micheál Martin will be happy enough with how the meeting with US President Donald Trump went. He’ll be even happier that it was Keir Starmer that was in the US president’s sights and not himself. 

2. The bill may be bigger this time

Ten years after their first interview, Henry Mance has lunch with Nigel Farage Alamy Alamy

This fascinating piece from Henry Mance details an interesting experience he had at lunch with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. Ten years after their first interview, Mance details how some things with “the Brexit guy” just never change.

(Financial Times, approx 22 mins reading time)

It’s like Brexit all over again. The waiter pours me the last of the second bottle of claret. I reflect. No, Nigel Farage hasn’t changed, not in the ways that really matter. He still surprises. He still arrives quicker than you expect and stays longer. This time the bill may be bigger. Be prepared.

3. Sex, drugs & law graduates: ‘This Life’ turns 30 

This Life features a baby-faced Andrew Lincoln Alamy Alamy

To celebrate 30 years of This Life, the BBC is re-running the landmark drama. This piece sits down with Amy Jenkins, the show’s creator and chief writer, who brought a baby-faced Andrew Lincoln to screens and gave Ricky Gervais his big break three decades ago. 

(The Guardian, approx 10 mins reading time) 

Oral sex in the kitchen. Weed-smoking and talk of temazepam. A full-frontal Andrew Lincoln shower scene. And that’s just in the first episode. Welcome to This Life. Pop on a Portishead CD and leave your inhibitions (and clothes) at the door.

 4. Shattering the Dubai illusion

Those who call Dubai home have been left in turmoil since the war started in the Middle East Alamy Alamy

This piece talks to those who fled war to come to Dubai, as they watch their safe haven unravel. Many that call Dubai home are asking what’s next and still trying to weigh up if they should leave, if they’re even able to. 

(The New Yorker, approx 18 mins reading time)

Mohammad was fifteen when his mother moved their family to Dubai. At the time, it was a simple city with a low-rise skyline: a mix of old Arabian markets, construction zones, and large swaths of desert. As a city in the United Arab Emirates, an Islamic Arab country, it felt culturally familiar to them, coming from the Persian world. But it had an openness—and a sense of safety and possibility—that made it distinct from Tehran.

5. Challenging toxic male behaviour

Louis Theroux's new documentary goes inside the manosphere Alamy Alamy

This is an uncomfortable but important read in light of the incident at a St Patrick’s Day parade in Balinrobe where a float saw people mimicking the rape of people dressed as girls on a mattress. Following the release of Louis Theroux’s documentary exploring the manosphere, this opinion piece encourages men to call out toxic male behaviour.

(Irish Examiner, approx 6 mins reading time)

Being a solitary voice in a group of men, from your local St Patrick’s Day Parade all the way to the Oval Office is not a reason to speak softly, or worse, not at all. The followers of the manosphere and the likes of Trump have one enormous commonality; they fawn over their hero’s perceived strength. 

6. Are AI chatbots replacing our friendships?

People are turning to AI to fill friendship gaps in their lives Alamy Alamy

This excellent piece explores how people are using AI chatbots to fill the roles of friends in their daily lives. With AI here to stay they talk to experts about what this means and how dangerous it could be

(The Atlantic, approx 18 mins reading time)

Real, human relationships bring joys that digital companionship cannot replicate, and much is lost in the pursuit of the ultimate individualistic friendship. A chatbot can’t cook you soup when you’re sick or hold your hand at a funeral. It can’t dance at a concert with you or help you carry home a heavy dresser you bought on Craigslist. You can’t do those things for it, either, and get the satisfaction that comes from helping another person. 

…AND A CLASSIC FROM THE ARCHIVES…

Robert Redford died last September age 89 Alamy Alamy

Last weekend, the Oscars paid tribute to the great Robert Redford who died last September. The Journal spoke with his biographer Michael Feeney Callan after his death last year.

(The Journal, approx 5 mins reading time) 

Redford’s attachment to Ireland was very deep, according to Feeney Callan. Not only did his great-great-grandmother hail from Co Down, but he was also “immersed” in Irish mythology. In the 1960s, he appeared on Broadway in Little Moon of Alban, a play set in Dublin after the Irish War of Independence. When he found himself in the capital some years later, it evidently brought back memories.

Note: The Journal generally selects stories that are not paywalled, but some might not be accessible if you have exceeded your free article limit on the site in question.